Jack M Silverstein’s brief thoughts following Super Bowl XLII
check this story out at profootballnet.com: http://www.profootballnet.com/content/view/2134/61
/


WARNING!! SPOILERS AHEAD!!

Now that the New York Giants’ gripping Super Bowl XLII victory is in the books, you may find yourself involved in a Sports Debate over the coming weeks. Some questions and issues to consider during your debating that you A. should be ready for… B. may use in order to prevent stagnation:

1. Will the Patriots’ loss trigger another decline of Boston-area sports (a la 1986), a particularly cruel twist considering their nearly unprecedented high over the past six years, as well as their nearly unprecedented peak to that high since last September?
2. What does this do to Brady’s standing on The List? Is he above…
a. Aikman? (Jack sez: tie)
b. Bradshaw? (yes)
c. Elway? (yes)
d. Favre? (yes)
e. Manning? (yes)
f. Montana? (no)
g. Young? (yes)
3. What if this is the beginning of Brady as “Super Bowl choker?” What if he ends up having Elway’s career, except in reverse? Wouldn’t that be a trip?
4. How good will Simmons’ column be? I mean, how good? Pretty damn excellent, I say.
5. When you take into account athletic brilliance, game-significance, and play-importance, is it safe to say that David Tyree’s helmet-sticking back-bend catch has joined the top tier of the greatest catches in postseason history? Dwight Clark had “The Catch,” and now Tyree has “The Grab.”
6. Where does XLII rank in Super Bowl history in terms of…
a. impressive upsets?
b. overall game excitement?
7. Forget about the legacy of the 2007 Patriots. What is now the legacy of the Brady/Belichick Patriots?
8. How much will all of the camera/spying poo-cocky be discussed in light of New England’s loss?
9. Here at profootballnet.com, there’s nothing we enjoy more than a good old NFL bull session. And one subject that comes up quite often is QUARTERBACKS THAT HAVE WON ME OVER. We swap stories about Aaron Brooks against the Rams, Jake Plummer in ’98, Jake Delhomme in Super Bowl XXXVIII, and others of the like. Eli Manning has been a certain kind of quarterback for much of his career…if he ends up being that quarterback for the remainder of his career, has this run alone been enough to win you over?
10. Who’s Super Bowl performance was more impressive—Peyton’s or Eli’s?
11. When listing quarterbacks by just their last name from here on, do you think that you will begin qualifying Peyton as “P. Manning?” If not, what more would Eli have to accomplish to seal that for you?
12. Do you realize that since winning Super Bowl XXXIX, Tom Brady has twice failed to win a playoff game in which he had the ball for a game-winning drive? Do you realize?
13. Isn’t it weird that the last time the Patriots were in the Super Bowl, a possession receiver with the number 83 tied a Super Bowl record with 11 receptions, and then the next time they were in the Super Bowl a different possession receiver with the number 83 tied that record?
14. Do you think that Randy Moss choked on the final drive of the game? Did his performance during that final game change your opinion of his 2007 season?

And finally…

15. Where does New York’s final drive rank among potential game-winning Super Bowl drives?

THE BEST POTENTIAL GAME-CHANGING, LATE-GAME DRIVES IN SUPER BOWL HISTORY, IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE

Team, game Score Time/Yardage Final play
Colts, V 13-13 tie under 2 min, own 48 32-yard FG, O’Brien, :05 remaining
49ers, XXIII 16-13 Bengals 3:10, own 8 10 yards Montana to Taylor, :34
Bills, XXV 20-19 Giants 2:16, own 10 MISSED 47-yard FG, Norwood, :08
Broncos, XXXII 24-24 tie 3:27, opp 49 1-yard TD run, T. Davis, 1:45
Titans, XXXIV 23-16 Rams 1:54, own 10 9 yards to Dyson, stopped at the 1, 0:00
Rams, XXXVI 17-10 Patriots 1:51, own 45 26 yards Warner to Proehl, 1:30
Patriots, XXXVI 17-17 tie 1:21, own 17 48-yard FG, Vinatieri, 0:00
Panthers, XXXVIII 29-22 Patriots 2:43, own 20 12-yards Delhomme to Proehl, 1:08
Patriots, XXXVIII 29-29 tie 1:08, own 40 41-yard FG, Vinatieri, :04
Giants, XLII 14-10 Patriots 2:39, own 17 13 yards Manning to Burress, :35


I hope that is useful. Happy debating.

PEACE
Sincerely, Jack M Silverstein, The Faulty Predictor